Adjustable book shelves and book ends



July 28, 1964 A. E. FRIDOLPH 3,142,384

' ADJUSTABLE BooK sHELvEs AND BooK-ENDS l Filed Dec. 29, 1961 2 Shevetsheet l H fa' n lrly.. H n.' .AA l I l ff F/a u HM? H gc' Hp ww- 'wff l M! 1U! lLlfH-U- "'-iiin'll-'llliiiii ANNETTE FRIDOLPH F /6 2 her ATQRNEYS July 28, 1964 A. E. FRlDoLPH ADJUSTABLE BooK sHELvEs AND BooK ENDS 2 Sheets-Shea?l 2 Filed Dec. 29, 1961 INVENTOR.

` ANNETTE FRlDOLPH her ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent O 3,142,384 ADSUSTABLE BOOK SHELVES AND BOOK ENDS Annette E. Fridolph, 21130 W. Front St., Statesville, N.C. Filed Dec. 29, 1961, Ser. No. 163,333 7 Elaims. (Ci. 211-43) This invention relates to improvements in bookshelves and other articles having dividers or partitions, and particularly to bookcases or library shelves having bookends or dividers adjustably mounted thereon.

Others have suggested mounting bookends or dividers on a support by means of a foot or slider, fastened to the bottom of the bookend, and slidable along an undercut groove in the support.

In this type of device, the opening for inserting the slider is in the end of the shelf so that each time a new bookend is to be placed on the shelf or removed from the shelf the shelf must be removed from the bookcase.

The wall type bookshelves, that is to say shelves fastened to the wall by means of brackets, the ends of the shelf are not covered and the bookends, when too many books are placed on the shelves, may be pushed off the end of the shelf.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved means of attaching a bookend or partition to a book shelf or other support in which the bookend or partition can be attached to, or removed from and adjusted along, a shelf or support, without removing the shelf or support and without danger or inadvertently disengaging the bookend or partition.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE l is a front elevational view of a bookcase having partitions or bookends attached thereto embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective View of a portion of the bookcase and a portion of a bookend thereon;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the slider for attaching a bookend to the bookcase;

FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view of a bookend having a slider attached thereto;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of the bookend; and

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a portion of a modified form of bookcase having a bookend attached to the back of a bookcase.

Referring to the drawings, particularly FIGURE 1, there is illustrated a bookcase 1 having a plurality of shelves 2a, 2b and 2c. Mounted upon the shelves or suspended therefrom are partitions or bookends 3. Each bookend 3 is detachably and adjustably connected to a shelf by means of a slider 4, fastened to the lower edge 5 of the bookend 3, FIGURES 2, 4 and 5. As shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, the slider 4 is offset from the center of the bottom edge of the bookend 3 but it can be positioned centrally, if desired, as explained hereinafter. The slider 4 is slidably received in an inverted T-shaped longitudinal slot 7 or 8, FIGURE 5, in the top and bottom surfaces of the shelf 2 so that the uppermost and lowermost shelves 2a and 2c can support both upwardly extending and downwardly extending bookends. In this arrangement the slots 7 and S are offset on opposite sides of the longitudinal counterline of the shelf and the sliders 4 are correspondingly offset with respect to the center of the bookend 3. However, if only one slot is present in a shelf, it can be centrally located, as can the slider 4 on this bookend.

The slider 4, as best shown in FIGURE 3, includes a bar 9 of generally octagonal shape although it can be of circular, oval, square or other polygonal cross-section. Upon the bar 9 is mounted a T-shaped bracket 10 having a plurality of openings 11 in its cross-bar 12 for receiving screws to 3,142,384 Patented July 28, 1964 ICC secure the slider to the bookend. The cross-bar 12 may extend lengthwise of the bar 9, but preferably, and as shown in FIGURE 3, it extends transversely with respect to the bar 9. A thin shank 13 between and connecting the cross-bar 12 and the bar 9 slidably fits in the narrow portion 14 of the slot 7 or 8. The bar 9 fits rather loosely in the wider portion 15 of the slot 7 or 8 so that it can be moved readily along the slot, but will lock therein when tilted slightly.

When the slider element FIGURE 2, is fastened to the bookend 3 or partition, illustrated by FIGURE 3, the bar 9 is perpendicular to the front and back of the bookend.

With the construction thus far described the slider can only be inserted in the slot 7 or 8 only when the shelf is removed from the bookcase. In accordance with the present invention, means are provided to enable the slider to be inserted in the slot while the shelf is in the bookcase. To this end, a transverse slot 16 is cut on the shelf in intersecting relation to the slot 7, the slot 16 being long enough to admit the slider 4 when it is turned at an angle to the slot 7, for example. An enlarged cavity 18 is cut, drilled or otherwise formed in the end of the shelf to underlie the slot 16 and extend on all sides of it a suicient distance to permit the slider 4 to be turned and moved endwise into the slot 7. The slot 16 must be spaced from the end of the shelf a suflicient distance to enable the edge of the bookend 3 to clear the side of the bookcase as the slider 4 is inserted into the slot. To prevent the bookend from being pushed off of an open bookshelf, a plug 19 may be inserted in the outer end of the cavity 18 and secured therein by means of an adhesive or nail.

The slot 8 is provided with a similar transverse slot and enlargement. In this way one or more bookends 3 can be attached to the top and/or bottom of a shelf, an advantage in bookcases having a larger number of shelves for the reason that only every other shelf need be provided with slots for receiving the sliders. The Intermediate shelves can be plain. Of course, if desired, each shelf may be provided with a slot in only one surface (upper or lower) for receiving the sliders on the bookends.

A further modification of the invention is disclosed in FIGURE 6 in which the slot 21 is formed in the back 22 of the bookcase 23. The shape and arrangement of the slot 21, the slider inserting aperture 24, cavity 2S and slider 26 are the same as those described above and shown in FIGURES 2 to 5 with the exception that the slider is attached to the side edge 27 of the bookend 28.

It will be understood that the above described structure is not limited to use solely in bookcases and bookshelves. It may be used to mount slidable partitions in the drawers of le cabinets, phonograph record cabinets and the like. Accordingly, the embodiments of the invention described above should be considered as illustrative.

I claim:

1. A support for a plurality of articles comprising:

a member having a longitudinal slot therein, said slot having a narrow portion opening through one surface of said member and a wider portion spaced behind said surface,

an elongated slider longer than the wider portion of said slot and wider than said narrower portion of said slot engageable in and slidable along said slot,

a connecting member extending from said slider and slidable in said narrower portion of said slot,

a second slot extending transversely of and communicating with said longitudinal slot to allow passage of said slider through said transverse slot,

an enlarged cavity in said support behind said transverse slot and in alignment with said longitudinal slot to permit turning of said slider into endwise alignment with said slot and introduction of said slider into said longitudinal slot and a partition mounted on said connecting member substantially perpendicular to said slider.

2. The support set forth in claim 1 in which said transverse slot is spaced from one end of said member a sufficient distance to permit said slider to be inserted in said transverse slot without interference from said partition.

3. The support set forth in claim 1 in which said member is a bookshelf.

4. The support set forth in claim 1 in which said member is the back of a bookcase.

5. The support set forth in claim 1 in which said member has said longitudinal slots in opposite sides thereof.

6. The support set forth inclaim 5 in which the longitudinal slots are in offset parallel relation.

7. The support set forth in claim 1 in which said longitudinal slot and said cavity have an open end at one end of said member, and comprising a plug secured in and closing said open end of said cavity.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,271,250 Buchholz Jan. 27, 1942 

1. A SUPPORT FOR A PLURALITY OF ARTICLES COMPRISING: A MEMBER HAVING A LONGITUDINAL SLOT THEREIN, SAID SLOT HAVING A NARROW PORTION OPENING THROUGH ONE SURFACE OF SAID MEMBER AND A WIDER PORTION SPACED BEHIND SAID SURFACE, AN ELONGATED SLIDER LONGER THAN THE WIDER PORTION OF SAID SLOT AND WIDER THAN SAID NARROWER PORTION OF SAID SLOT ENGAGEABLE IN AND SLIDABLE ALONG SAID SLOT, A CONNECTING MEMBER EXTENDING FROM SAID SLIDER AND SLIDABLE IN SAID NARROWER PORTION OF SAID SLOT, A SECOND SLOT EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF AND COMMUNICATING WITH SAID LONGITUDINAL SLOT TO ALLOW PASSAGE OF SAID SLIDER THROUGH SAID TRANSVERSE SLOT, AN ENLARGED CAVITY IN SAID SUPPORT BEHIND SAID TRANSVERSE SLOT AND IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID LONGITUDINAL SLOT TO PERMIT TURNING OF SAID SLIDER INTO ENDWISE ALIGNMENT WITH SAID SLOT AND INTRODUCTION OF SAID SLIDER INTO SAID LONGITUDINAL SLOT AND A PARTITION MOUNTED ON SAID CONNECTING MEMBER SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID SLIDER. 